


There Are Other Games to Be Played

by Fandom_Trash13



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: District 12, Effie-centric fic, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, How Do I Tag, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I'll tag as I go, I'm Bad At Tagging, Post-Canon, The Capitol
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2017-09-29
Packaged: 2019-01-06 18:01:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12216024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fandom_Trash13/pseuds/Fandom_Trash13
Summary: After things start to settle down in Panem, Effie Trinket decides to make the trip out to where she used to be dragged out once a year for the annual Hunger Games - District 12. How will the District treat this past Games Escort who plucked their defenseless children from their loved ones to be killed on television?





	There Are Other Games to Be Played

**Author's Note:**

> This is something that happened to pop into my head one night over a year ago. I've been tweaking it here & there, yet never really felt it going anywhere. But after a few friends read it, they loved it & wanted me to finish it. So I have no clue how long this story will be or how long it'll take to complete. I hope someone else likes it. And sorry for the awful summary. Thank you Michelle (PsychicTrashWorshipers) for the title of this mess of a chapter.
> 
>  
> 
> Disclaimer:: I don't own Hunger Games, or any of the characters affiliated with the franchise.

Green; so much **green**.

 ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~Effie remembers when she used to see the rush of emeralds and jades of the foliage annually, flying by at 250 miles per hour. She felt a pang of guilt, at the memory of not having been able to help the Tributes she had been tasked with escorting to the Capitol for nearly a decade. Then she remembers when Katniss volunteered for her little sister Primrose, and that's how everything changed. Katniss side-stepped the Capitol's iron-clad rules to win her first Hunger Games alongside her fellow District 12 Tribute Peeta Mellark, and then halfway through her second Games was pulled into the Revolution led by the hidden District 13.

 _After all those years and Snow kept an entire District a secret from the rest of the nation_ , Effie thought to herself, not for the first time. She turned her gaze from the floor-to-ceiling windows to the interior of the car she was currently occupying.

The political upheaving did little to change how most of the things in Panem looked. This train was nearly identical to the ones she used to ride in annually, busy keeping her Tributes' schedule on track. The car was one of the more lavish ones on the train —  _Old habits die hard_ , she thinks to herself. Two large, ornate chandeliers hang from a high ceiling; the large windows supplied enough sunlight to keep the lights off. One half of the car was a kitchenette and lounge area — Effie learned to cook some basic dishes (instead of going out often) since she returned to the Capitol, so she was glad of that. There was a large table — mahogany, of course — and a plush couch that was made of Effie's favorite color: a deep magenta with a shimmering blue sheen over it, embroidered with floral designs. The other half of the car was a decently large bedroom, with a — you guessed it — mahogany dresser for her outfits and a queen-sized bed. There was an attached bathroom with a large, ornate mirror and jetted tub so she could relax and get ready for her destination.

She had enough money to travel in a single railcar by herself. Effie wanted the alone time to gather herself before she arrived, and had plenty of money saved up for this trip in general. With herself as her only companion, her mind started to wander; she began to think about how her life would've been different if something along the way, like if someone hadn't rescued her after Katniss shot the arena ceiling with her electrically-charged arrow.

 _Rescued_ , she laughed at her head. She hadn't thought of it as a "rescue" at the time. She would later find out she was the only remaining person left from any of the previous Tributes' prep teams. _In hindsight, Plutarch and Haymitch pulling me from the Capitol was the best thing that could've ever happened to me_.

Effie smiled at the thought of Haymitch. She hasn't seen the ex-alcoholic-ex-Tribute since he left for Twelve with Katniss. _My, my, what a kiss that was_ , reminiscing her farewell smooch from Haymitch.

Instinctively, Effie hoped her make-up was thick enough to hide her blush - _hide from whom_ , she thought. Her feelings for Haymitch began years before Katniss was eligible for Reaping. At first, being forced to spend anything longer than what was officially required with the alcoholic made Effie wince. But working year after year next to the District's only surviving Tribute, she eventually came to care for him, and learned the drunkard's likes, dislikes, mannerisms, the quirks that made Haymitch...well... _Haymitch_.

He was one of the main reasons that Effie found herself halfway through District 3 on her way to District 12. She missed seeing Haymitch for a few months over that last year, and for what little bit they shared during each Games; she had also grown fond of Katniss and Peeta over their year and a half together. In fact, with Haymitch away detoxing his system of alcohol, Katniss was the only person in Thirteen that she really knew at the beginning of her involvement with the Rebellion.

Although Katniss never spoke too much when they ate their lunches together, or while they got her prepped for her Mockingjay propos, Effie felt herself getting even more and more attached and motherly to her Tributes — even if one of them was thousands of miles away.

She couldn't even imagine all what torturous things the Capitol had done to Peeta after they had captured him, or to others that didn't follow their rules. She had only heard the vague gist of how they twisted Peeta's fondest memories of his love for Katniss into their deadliest weapon against the Mockingjay herself. The Capitol, the " _shining beacon_ " that drew her in at an all-too-young age... But all of that was behind them. Panem was in a better place, with Madame President Paylor still in office.

Effie hasn't had the opportunity to meet Paylor in person, but she was grateful for her way of governing. Panem was a free nation, like the America of ancient past. _Maybe we have learned our lesson this time_ , she thinks, getting up to stretch her legs.

She figured since she wouldn't be seen by many people on this trip that would care about how she looks, her outfit wasn't as "Capitol" as people were used to seeing her in; the old dictatorial-presidential regime may be gone, but the need to be as fashion forward and avant-garde in the Capitol has remained the same. But over her years as Escort to the "gloomy" District 12, her bright and extravagant clothes made her feel alienated, and she would like to never feel that out of place again. So Effie decided to wear one of her favorite creations, an outfit she whipped up while in District 13: two blue-gray shirts buttoned together and belted, over gray tights made from a thermal undershirt, with some colorful bangles around her wrists, her favorite pair of metallic heelless stilettos and the District 13 headscarf that doubled as a map of the compound they called home for those few months. She **never** let anyone see her natural hair; it's always been one of her biggest insecurities, which is why she was drawn to the magnitude of wigs that she owned.

 _I would have never thought in a million years I would love this drab wardrobe_ , Effie thinks, running her hand over her headscarf, making sure the knot was tight enough. She grew fond of the gray garb over her time in Thirteen; considering she was the only one who decided to get creative with the ways the military-grade clothes could be worn. She shocked herself by wearing the same ensemble for a second time. In the Capitol, one still doesn't wear the same thing twice without switching it up.

Effie is sure that she'll still stick out when she arrives; it's a feeling she's grown accustomed to over her years of standing in front of the crowd of starving, hopeless people as she took away two helpless children to be slaughtered in the Games. _How could've I ever been a part of that_? Effie thinks. Having spent some time in Thirteen, she was finally shown and exposed to what the Capitol had done to the other Districts over the decades under Snow's regime. She saw that the Rebel's hatred for the Capitol was founded solidly in reason.

Staring out the window once more, Effie notices the dilapidated fence that borders the greater part of Twelve was quickly approaching. Everyone who's ever been in the District knows that the fence's electricity was never reliable and had more than a few holes in it, but it kept the wildlife out of the towns so no one complained. Not even Effie herself, who is known for trying to keep things in tip-top shape and order. The fence means that there's only half an hour until Effie reaches the train station in the center of the District.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading this all the way through! It really means a lot to me. If you could, please leave a comment on how it could be fixed or any good ideas to continue with. Kudos' are always appreciated.


End file.
